What age is Prue Leith, who was the Bake Off presenter's husband Rayne Kruger and when did she open Leith's Cookery School?
She caused a national outcry by revealing the results of the final on Twitter before it aired, here's what else we know about the woman behind the cookery books…
Who is Prue Leith? What is her background?
Prue Leith is a restaurateur, cookery writer and television presenter.
Born in South Africa on February 18 1940, she tried her hand studying Drama, Fine Art and even Architecture before moving to France to study the language.
But it was there that she discovered a love for food – she noted in her Life So Far that she was inspired to cook by a woman she worked for as an au pair in France.
The budding chef then decided to learn to cook at the Cordon Bleu in London.
Starting her career catering for high-class business lunches, Leith worked her way up to opening her own restaurant, Leith's, that eventually worked its way into being awarded a Michelin star.
During her cooking career, she also opened Leith's School of Food and Wine in 1974 – selling it almost 20 years later.
Prue has been recognised around the world for her contributions to the cooking world.
She was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1989, as well as being awarded as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2010.
Is Prue married?
While she has had a whirlwind cooking career, Prue was also married to author Rayne Kruger, with the pair having two children together.
The couple were married for almost 40 years before Kruger's death.
In her memoir, Relish: My Life on a Plate, Prue revealed certain secrets from her past, including her 13-year affair with Rayne, who was her mother’s best friend’s husband.
Speaking on This Morning about her decision to write an autobiography she said: “I thought long and hard about it. I knew there would be a bit in it that people thought were shocking. But I thought if I’m going to write it, it has to be true. If it was interesting, even if it was controversial, I would put it in. Most people remember things differently. I put what I remember.”
After marrying John Playfair in 2016, the TV chef said she 'feels like a teenager again' due to her thriving sex life with her husband seven years her junior.
Did Prue Leith spoil the Bake Off final?
Around 12 hours before the GBBO final on October 31, Prue shocked fans by appearing to ruin the result of the series finale by congratulating the winner.
Prue Leith was in Bhutan when she did the tweet and blamed the time difference the reason why she "f***** up".
She expressed regret after accidentally revealing the winner, saying: "I'm in too much of a state to talk about it."
What books has Prue written?
Prue Leith has written a number of fiction and non-fiction books, all centred around cooking.
Some of her fiction books include The Food of Love trilogy, as well as The Gardener.
Her other cookbooks include Leith's How to Cook, Leith's Cookery Bible and Leith's Techniques Bible.
One of her biggest achievements is simply maintaining her love for cooking.
On her website, she writes: "I love cooking, the doing of it… I still like experimenting and trying stuff and eating things I’ve never eaten before. "
Has Prue Leith judged in a TV cooking competition before?
Devout cooking fans will instantly have recognised Prue from the BBC's Great British Menu.
The competition sees top British chefs compete for the chance to cook a course of a four-course banquet.
Prue judged on the panel for 11 years alongside Oliver Peyton and Matthew Fort until it was announced in October 2016 that she would be replaced by Andi Oliver.
What is Prue Leith's net worth?
Prue's long career has involved running her own business, books and obviously her TV work,
She was believed to have secured a £200,000 contract to be a judge on the Bake Off, so it's no surprise her estimated net worth is said to be close to the £1 million mark.
How much money was Prue paid for Great British Bake Off?
Leith is thought to have earned three times more than Mary Berry when she took over her position on the revamped Great British Bake Off.
The veteran telly cook, 78, is said to have signed a deal with Channel 4 worth around £200,000 for the series.
It dwarfs the £70,000 both Mary, 81, and co-judge Paul Hollywood, 51, commanded for the show under the BBC.
The savvy TV personality is no stranger to a lucrative deal.
When she sold off her food interests in 1995, her culinary group’s turnover was £15million, according to Spears.
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